Scar Tissue

It starts with a wound you learn to dress
around. Striping your body, it tells you
that something's been taken. Put simply,
it was yours, and it just went bad.
The doctor stitched your skin
the way anything gets fleshed over
when a loss takes place.
Later, when he pulled out the threads,
you wondered what would hold you together.
In time, a red scar forms.
Like a mark on a treasure map,
it tells you the number of paces
it takes to get exactly here.
Soon, the scar turns pink,
the skin callous and dull.
That's just the movement of things
taking the place of other things.

Francine Witte

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